Container sealing means



March 24, 1936. MEYER. 2,035 179 CONTAINER SEALING MEANS Filed Dec. 31,1951 WI TN ESSES Patented Mar. 24', 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECONTAINER SEALING MEANS George J. Meyer, Milwaukee, Wis. ApplicationDecember 31, 1931, Serial No. 584,036

2 Claims. goi. 215-38) The invention relates to containers, such asbottles, jars, and the like, and to closures there- An object of theinvention is to provide a contamer, such as a. bottle or the like,having. a

slightly tapered sealing surface about its side walls for receivingthereon the side walls of a.

cup-shaped closure which is pressed into place. and which is capable ofadapting itself to slight irregularities of the sealing surface of thecontainer, the sealing surface being of such character as to minimizedamage thereto and even if damaged presenting ample-surface for securinga perfect seal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cup-shaped closurehaving a resilient liner or packing within the side walls thereof forengaging the sealing surface of the container onto which the closure ispressed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cap in which the lineris formed of a material capable of being softened by heat as the closureis applied to the container to thereby secure a permanent seal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a vitreous containerwhich is of strong and durable construction and in which the aperturedportion thereof is provided with spaced circumferentially arrangedprojections, the projections protecting the cap sealing surface of thecontainer, presenting ledges or abutments to facilitate prying off theclosure, and presenting cam surfaces for engaging lugs on a closure fordrawing the closure onto the container, the spaces between the containerprojections permitting an opener to be applied to the cap.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container closurehaving longitudinally extending tongues which are accommodated 40 withinthe spaces between the container projections and are adapted to be wiredor otherwise secured to thecontainer for additional sealing purposes.

The invention further consists in the several 45 features hereinafterset forth and more particularly defined by the annexed claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the neckportion of a bottle embodying the invention and carrying a closure 50 ofthe invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the bottle;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view of the neck portion of the bottleshowing a modified form of closure applied thereto;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the neck portion of the bottle taken alongthe line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side view of the neck portion of the container,showing in section another modifled form ofclosure applied-thereto, and.

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the closure shown in Fig. 5.

In .the drawing, the numeral Ill designates a container of vitreousmaterial, here indicated to be a bottle. The neck portion ll of thebottle 10 is provided with an enlarged head l2 having a smooth exteriorconical sealing surface-l3 converging upwardly, the conical surfacebeing slightly tapered in the ratio of approximately 1 in 16. Theconical surface [3 merges at its lower 15 portions into a cylindricalsurface ll.

A plurality of radial projectionslli are integrally formed on the neckportion ll of the bottle and extend upwardly to the conical surface.l3.The projections iii are rounded at their 20 side edges, as seen in Fig.2, and at their upper edges present ledges IT for receiving a pryingtool, as hereinafter described. The projections l6 protect. the conicalsealing surface Hi from chipping or other damage. The lower edges. ofthe projections iii are provided with cam surfaces l8 for engagementwith parts of a closure, as hereinafter described. I In that form of theinvention shown in Fig. 1, the bottle is provided with a cup-shapedsealing 3o cap l9 which is pressed onto the slightly conical surface I3of the bottle. The sealing cap is formed of sheet metal and is providedwith a resilient liner or packing sheet 10, which may be formedof'paper, rubber, parchment, composition, or other material, best suitedfor the goods to be sealed in the container, such as milk, wine, beer,or carbonated beverages. The metal selected for the cap may be ofvarious kinds; lac-' quered black steel would be suitable for milk 40bottles; tinnedsteel would be suitable for carbonated beverages; andcopper or bronze for champagne and wines, etc. The metal is preferablyrough on its inner side to secure better adhesion of the resilientliner. The lined caps may be formed by any suitable process such as thatdisclosed in my co-pendin'g application for sheet metal processing,Serial No. 339,174, filed February 11, 1929.

The side walls of the cap have substantially the same taper as the headof the bottle, thus permitting the cap to be firmly pressed onto thebottle without damaging the liner. The caps when pressed onto thebottles. will adapt themselves to varying diameters. or slightvariations ventional type of bottle is chipped, the bottle must inrotundity of the bottle heads, the side walls of the caps beingsuflicientlydeformable for this purpose. The caps will have a uniformsealing pressure regardless of such variations, if a uniform cappingpressure is applied. Even if the conical surface ii ofthe bottle head isdamaged, it will still have ample area for a perfect seal; whereas, ifthe fragile top sealing edge of the canbe discarded. The taper selectedfor the side walls of the bottle head is suiliciently below theangleofsliptoinmost casesrequireagreater pressure to remove the cap thanto apply it to the container, particularly after the cap has set a shorttime. The fit of the cap on the bottle is sufficiently tight so that itcan easily withstand considerable internal pressure in the bottle, suchas may exist when the bottle contains a carbonated liquid. The capisretained insealing engagement with the bottle by the peripheraltension set up in the side walls of the resilient cap during theapplication of capping pressure. The elasticity of the deformable sheetmetal cap maintains this sealing tension, and the yielding character ofthe cap permits the use of a comparatively thin liner. when the cap isapplied, the side walls are stressed considerably, but preferablywithout exceeding the elastic limit of the metal.

To loosen or remove the cap, a prying tool may be inserted between theledges l1 and the lower edge of the cap. The hooked or cut end of a toolmay also be entered between the head and the side walls of the cap, thespaces between the lugs I providing clearance for this purpose. The

lower edge of the cap may be provided with a bead I! to re-enforce andstiffen the cap, the

outturned lower edge of the liner being clampedwithin the bead. The capis preferably of such stretching at the edge of the cap side wall sothat this edge is approximately as resistant to stretch as otherportions of the cap side walls.

formed tongues l2| which lie in the spaces between the bottleprojections l8 and have their lower ends crimped over, or otherwisesecured to a sealing wire I22 or'other sealing band surrounding thebottle neck below the projections l B.

In the modified form of construction shownin Fig. 5, the bottle 10 isprovided with a bottle cap or hood 2| 9 having a resilient liner 220engageable with either the top or tapered surface of the bottle head, orwith both of these surfaces. The cap H9 is provided with an enlargedskirt 22! which surrounds the bottle projections l8 and is provided withlugs 222 at its lower edge engageable with the cam surfaces l8 of thebottle projections I. The cap M9 is drawn into sealing engagement withthe bottle by the cam engagement between the lugs 222 and cam surfacesIt when the cap is given a partial turn. This type of cap or hood issuitable for temporary use after the other sealing cap is removed. Inapplying or removing the cap 2 IS, the lugs 222 pass'through the spacesbetween the bottle projections I. In some instances, the liner may beomitted from the cap 2l9. When the cap is provided with both sideand topsealing surfaces, the cap is capable of use for both shipping andtemporary service, thus dispensing with the need for an additional cap.The side seal, which is the shipping seal, is established withoutengaging the cap lugs on the container cam surfaces, the cap beingpressed onto the bottle in the same manner as the cap of Fig. 1. Theremoval of the cap preferably destroys the side seal, and the, cap isthereafter capable of temporary or service use,

1. A container closure, comprising a sheet meta1 cap having a skirtprovided with an out-turned bead, and a packing liner for said skirthaving a reversely turned edge portion extending over between said beadand the outer face of said skirt to resist relative shifting of theliner and skirt when the closure is forced axially onto a container.

GEORGE MEYER.

the top seal being established by the cam con-

